Voterama in Congress

Monday

Jun 17, 2013 at 8:09 AM

Voterama in Congress

Here’s how North Carolina members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending June 14.

HOUSE

2014 MILITARY BUDGET: Voting 315 for and 108 against, the House on June 14 approved a $638.4 billion military budget for fiscal 2014, including $85.8 billion for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than $60 billion for active-duty and retirement healthcare and $17.8 billion for Department of Energy nuclear-weapons programs. The bill (HR 1960) sets a 1.8 percent military pay raise; bars closure of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison; recommends a missiledefense shield for the East Coast, bars another round of base-closings and takes several steps to prevent sexual assaults in the military.

WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN: Voting 305 for and 121 against, the House on June 13 urged that a congressional vote be held to authorize any U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan after Dec. 31, 2014. President Obama has set that target date for ending most U.S. military involvement there. This non-binding amendment was added to HR 1960 (above).

OFFSHORE DERIVATIVES TRADING: Voting 301 for and 124 against, the House on June 12 sent the Senate a bill (HR 1256) to weaken the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulation law as it applies to derivatives trading by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. banks and other financial institutions. This bill creates a presumption that these overseas entities are exempt from Dodd-Frank if their host countries have “broadly comparable” derivatives regulations. This would reverse the presumption in current law that overseas subsidiaries are automatically covered by the strict Dodd-Frank derivatives rules unless U.S.-government regulators act to exempt them.

IMMIGRATION OVERHAUL: Voting 84 for and 15 against, the Senate on June 11 agreed to start what will be weeks of debate on an immigration bill (S 744) that would tighten U.S. borders; create a 13-year path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants; crack down on foreign visitors who overstay their visas; require all states to adopt the E-Verify system by which employers check on the legality of new employees; streamline family visas to reduce lengthy waits for overseas relations to join family members in the U.S., and establish new or streamlined employment visas for low-skilled and high-tech workers.

A yes vote was to start debating the bill.

North Carolina voting

yes: Kay Hagan, Richard Burr

Voting no: None DISPUTE OVER BORDER CONTROL: Voting 57 for and 43 against, the Senate on June 13 tabled (killed) a bid to require six months of tight U.S. government control of the border with Mexico before any undocumented immigrant could take even the first step on the 13-year road to citizenship offered by S 744 (above). The bill already requires the Department of Homeland Security to ramp up security on the U.S.- Mexico border before accepting applications for provisional status or lawful permanent residency. Because it called for still more triggers, this amendment was seen by foes as a poison pill intended to bring down the bill.

A yes vote was to kill the amendment.

North Carolina voting yes: Hagan Voting no: Burr FIVE-YEAR FARM BILL:

Voting 66 for and 27 against, the Senate on June 10 sent the House a bill (S 954) to renew federal agriculture and nutrition programs for five years at a projected cost of nearly $1 trillion over ten years, down $24 billion from current spending levels. About $800 billion of the outlay is for food stamps and other food and nutrition programs, with the remainder allocated to programs to protect farm incomes, boost exports, expand domestic markets, promote land conservation and fund rural development.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

North Carolina voting yes: Hagan, Burr Voting no: None In the week of June 17, the House will take up a bill to restrict abortions, while the Senate will debate amendments to an immigration bill.

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